Car-starter



No. 6|9,986.. Patentd Fab.' 2|, |899. F. B. NIMS.

GAR STARTER.

(Apphcatxon led Nov. 17, 1898.)

(No Model.)

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK B. NIMS, OF LAKE ODESSA, MICHIGAN.

CAR-STARTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,986, dated February21, 1899.

Application filed November 17, 1898. Serial No. 696,702. (No model T allwhom it may concer-71,:

Be it known that I, FRANK B. NIMS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lake Odessa, in the county of Ionia and State of Michigan,have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Starters, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of devices which is used byrailroad employees and others for starting and moving cars on the rails;and it consists in a lever of suitable form mounted on a bolt supportedby clamping-jaws, the bolt resting in two inclined slots and adapted,when downward pressure is applied to the longer end of the lever, toclamp the jaws onto the rail and at the same time to move the car towhich the device is applied.

The objects of my invention are, rst, to produce a device which will notonly grip the rail, so as to prevent the slipping of the carstarter uponthe rail, but also to furnish a rm support for the lever, the jawshaving sufficient length along the rail to prevent any tendency to rockthereon; second, to so mount the lever that it will have a tendency tomove forward as the longer end of the lever is lowered, therebyfollowing up the car-wheel after it is moved by the upward pressure ofthe front end of the lever; third, to form a double bearing for thehinged jaws. jects I accomplish by means of the mechanism illustrated intheaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a side elevation of mycar-starter placed in position on the rail with the long end of thelever raised. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same, and Fig. 3 is aplan View of the clamping-jaws with the lever removed.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The rail. upon which the clamping-jaws rest is shown by R, and E showsone of the carwheels of the car to be moved.

A represents the lever, rounded at the front end, as shown by I in Fig.1.

B and B are the clamping-jaws, hinged together by the longitudinal boltD. The lever A is rounded, as shown at H, so as to form a suitablebearing upon the inclined sides of the hinged jaws B and B', and is alsoprovided with a hole through which passes the fulcrumbolt C. Theinclined wings of the clampingspreads apart the wings of the jaws,thereby clamping the lower part, or jaws proper, upon the rail and alsopresses the lever forward upon the car-wheel. The jaws are provided withthe inclined or wedge-shaped faces F and G, 'as fully shown in Figs. 2and 3. The fulcrum is placed near the front end of the jaws, leavingaconsiderable length of the jaws back of the fulcrum and resting upon andclamping the rail. These jaws are attached together like an ordinaryhinge, having a bearing both in front and in the rear of thefulcrum-bolt, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The front end of the lever is so formed that when placed under acar-wheel it comes in close proximity to the upper surface of the rail,or it may be even brought in Contact with the rail.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The car-starter is placedupon the rail, the longer end of the lever raised, and the front endpressed against the car-wheel, as shown in Fig. 1. The ful'crum-bolt Cis now in position at the upper part of the slots J. The longer end ofthe lever is now pressed downward, which lowers the fulcrum-bolt C, andthe lever, pressing against the inclined surfaces F and G, spreads thewings of the claming-jaws and clamps the jaws rmly upon therail. Thefront end of the lever is raised and crowded forward by the movement ofthe fulcrum-bolt as it is pressed down in the inclined slots, and thecar is thus moved forward and away from the clamping jaws. When thecar-wheel has passed beyond the action of the front end of the lever,the longer end of the lever is raised and the front in clined shorterend is brought in contact with the rail, thereby lifting theclamping-jaws and releasing them from the rail. The jaws are then pushedforward and the longer end of the lever raised until the lever and jawsoccupy the position shown in Fig. l, when the operation above describedis continued.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to have invented, anddesire to se cure by Letters Patent, is-

IOO

l. In a car-starter, the combination of a pair of clamping-jaws havinginclined slots therein, a fulcrum-bolt extending through said slots, anda lever adapted to operate said jaws, mounted on said bolt,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a car-starter, the combination of a le- Ver,apair of clamping-jawshinged by a lon gitudinal bolt flaring upwardlyand outwardly, expandingwings, an inclined slot in each wing, a fulcrum-bolt passing throughsaid slots and lever, inclined or wedge-shaped surfaces on the adjacentsides of the wings, the lever having a bearing on the fulcrumfbolt, andupon said inclined surfaces when the longer end of the lever is presseddownward in use, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the lever, A, provided with the projection, H, theclampingjaws B andB' provided with the inclined surfaces, F and G,against which the lever bears the backward-inclining slots J, the bolt,C, passing through the slots and lever, and the horizontal hinge-bolt,D, attaching together the two clamping-jaws at a point in front and inthe rear of the fulcruln-bolt, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the lever, A, having a roundeddownwardly-extending projection, I, the jaws B and B/ each provided withan inclined slot, a fulcrum-bolt passing through the slots and thelever, said part, I, serving as a fulcrum to lift the jaws from the railwhen the longer end of the lever is raised, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the lever, A, having a downward projection, H, thedownwardly-extending point, I, the clamping-jaws B and B, provided withinclined surfaces F and G, and with the inclined slots, J, the front endof the lever adapted to lift and press upon the car-wheel, the downwardprojection, H, adapted to press down the surfaces F and G and therebyclamp the jaws of the rail when the inclined slots J move thefulcrum-bolt and lever forward upon the carwheel as the longer end ofthe lever is lowered, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

FRAN K B. NIMS.

Witnesses:

WESLEY H. MAINS, M. F. ARMOUR.

